TravelJoe

Hi everyone:

 

New to NCL. I read in this thread that if you do not drink all of your wine you can be refunded the $15 corkage fee. Where and when would I do this? I am sailing on the Breeze if that makes a difference!

 

Thank you for your help!!!

Refund applied by Guest Services on your departure morning. You have to bring the wine with you so they can count the stickers they put on the bottles.

yes, the movies are actually shown in 3 places..the atrium, which i agree didn't seem all that conducive, the main theater, and the outdoor screen on spice h20. If memory serves, thor was in the main theater...muppets and delivery man were in the atrium...frozen was on the outdoor screen. There was also a 3d movie at some point, but I can't remember if it was one of those, or a title i'm forgetting.

Yes, there was a 3D one as well -- I have my dailies at home and will try remember to post when I get home later.

But as previously cited, I think there was a movie a day around the ship.

Still available in Le Bistro and as a choice at Teppanyaki. Not sure about Cagney's. I seem to remember looking at a menu and not seeing them but I wouldn't swear to that.

Yes, lobster tails are still available at Cagney's as well -- either by themselves, or for surf and turf for $10. (there was also a lobster option at LeBistro).

Just off the Breakaway and I had the Bison steak (awesome), and had it with a tail -- should have forgone the tail -- I'm too spoiled with fresh Maine lobster and frozen tails aren't my thing. But still a good meal overall.

There is FRESH lobster available at Ocean Blue that are kept live in a separate tank -- all specialty restaurants have their own kitchens (except Teppanyaki -- no need there per se).

Thank you all for responses. I guess I will be leaving my wine at home. Definitely not going to pay $15 on top of what I already paid. I guess now I know why 24 of my 26 cruises have not been on NCL. POA seems to be the best way to see Hawaii.

Just off the Breakaway this morning. Yes, corkage fee is refunded for unopened bottles, but you can't do it until departure morning ... and the Guest Services staff don't appear to all understand how it works as the fee is not on your invoice as "corkage fee" but a charge from a restaurant. Manhattan for us.

Enjoy.

Looks like the Dawn is pulling out of Bermuda now. So glad they got the extra time after arriving so late! Good for them.

 

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On our way into Bermuda, we passed Dawn port side around 7am. Awesome sight. Will upload pics when we get home. Gorgeous day in Bermuda.

I pack mine in good solid wine cases and have a cheap Staples $30 cart carrier. Notice I have two cases here for my cruise tomorrow. There's 12 of us drinking wine. Hopefully enuf.

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Mine are like this - but a different color.

 

[ATTACH]318295[/ATTACH]

 

 

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thanks for the pic -- same as mine -- Omnium (sp?). Very comfy and glad you posted -- guess I'm also packing my Nike Airs for the ropes course. :)

I do not have the specific answer to your question - saw many (young and old) participating.

But...I will share that I was NOT permitted to participate in the ropes course. :eek: I was turned away because they did not consider my Teva shoes "appropriate footwear". :o

I was a little bummed - but it was still great to watch a friend enjoy the course.

"Teva Shoes" is a huge category given their 60 or so men's varieties (can't talk to women's versions). What sort of Teva were you wearing? Flipflop/sandles or something like Omnium???

Can't comment on the is it worth it (never been in a suite)

 

Family CAN visit your room; however you are correct they can NOT go into the Haven areas.

Correct.

Rather than repost what's documented very well out there, search the forum on "Haven" and you'll see tons of posts on what you get, and what you can/can't do with those not in the Haven.

I'm not sure your plan will work. This is from the T&C's

 

"Packages must be purchased by all qualifying individuals residing in the stateroom or additional staterooms under the same method of payment for the entire length of the cruise."

Correct. we have six linked reservations, and even though there are only two 'children' that are 12 and 14 that we would want the soda package for, we can't purchase it unless we buy a beverage package for all 17 of us (!!!). A little ridiculous in my opinion, but we'll ask once we get on board if an exception can be made as I know the folks that man the phones don't have the same lattitude on doing things that the crew does.

We tried to purchase for the cabin with the kids in it, including the corks package for the single adult online, and while it shows the offering, after adding to our cart, it's not there. A call to NCL confirmed what we thought.

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You need to talk to your TA!! If using a TA the tags are sent directly to them and they are responsible for getting them to you. NCL sends them directly to the guest when booked direct.

We booked through at TA and the tags came directly from NCL. One batch must have gotten messed up -- the first 5 all arrived (NY/NJ/NC) about 3 weeks out, but the last one came yesterday (for a 7/6 sailing). Still plenty of time to tag my bags (and pack).

Wasiii, why would you need to make res for the Haven restaurant? I can't imagine that you could not just walk in there anytime with no problem. In fact, we have never had a problem with any MDR on any ship. Once out of 6 cruises, we got a glass of champagne while we waited a short time, but every other time just walked in. I would rather chance that than have to worry about making and then being on time for a reservation while I'm on vacation.

My request for a reservation in The Haven restaurant is due to there being 17 of us -- I don't think (nor expect) that we could just walk in and be accommodated. I thought we'd do a "family dinner" the first night with everyone knowing that in reality, 17 people really can't engage with everyone, but nice to be together.

Also planning on doing the same the last night in Manhattan dining room. The other 5 nights we're all on our own to do together or not.

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Anyone know yet if the storm they are talking about will affect this departure?

5-day forecast for Boston looks good for the weekend. Current projections are the storm will be gone by Saturday morning and hitting Nova Scotia Saturday afternoon.

 

I guess we still can not make reservations to the Haven restaurant though.

 

:(

 

wasiii

 

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I have a "dining request" in with the pre-cruise Concierge for The Haven for one night for our trip -- will see if it turns into a reservation once on board.

LOL and well said:)

 

I don't cruise for lobster tails. Good basic food suits me any day. I'm just as happy with fish and chips and like lower fares with the option to chose the extras that appeal to me.

 

Actually with the cost of food rising faster than most of us can keep up, it makes sense to cut back on some of the frills and stick with the basics. I bought ground coffee last week and Folger's was $10.99 for 33.9 ounce container:eek:

+1

Seems that people sometimes forget that all businesses exist to make a profit, and allow them to continue to exist. If they don't make a profit, they fail and cease to exist.

Ok I just booked Illusionarium (and paid for it) and the comedy show online. I printed out the page that says confirmed . Does it show it anywhere on your itinerary. I cant find it anywhere. I clicked on the day we booked for each and it continues to say no activities booked.

It should show up on the tab for that's day's activities -- but NCL's systems aren't the best and most don't appear to be very well integrated or real-time. I'd give it 24 hours to show up -- you can always call to confirm as well.

In our case, I'm unable to do a "print booked items" for one of our six reservations. Whenever I try it, I get a "system maintenance" error and despite a call to NCL who received the same error message when they tried, everything shows up in my eDocs.

As already cited, you need to contact the NCL Access Desk and advise of the allergy at least 60 days prior to sailing. When we sailed on the Star, that's all we had to do, but we're on the Breakaway THIS SUNDAY! and also received a form to be completed and submitted. Not sure if that's a change in policy for NCL or just the Breakaway.

We found the staff to be highly trained not just in food allergies, but also cross-contamination. My daugher ordered breakfast potatoes one morning after seeing mine and the waiter came back and asked if she was the one with the gluten allergy. He advised her that while the potatoes themselves were gluten-free, they are warmed on the same grill that is used for the pancakes and french toast, so there could be residual flour on the grill. Needless to say, I was impressed.

We skipped the buffets as while we know what we can/can't eat, the whole cross contamination issue of utensils was something we didn't want to worry about.

One other point -- if you know where you will be dining the next night, ask the waiter in the restaurant for the menu for the next night and tell them you'd like to pre-order. They would prepare any item on the menu for my daughter gluten-free. We were able to do this for any venue -- main dining room and specialty restaurants. It does take a little planning to know what you want for dinner the next night, but the option was great for my daughter as she had access to everything on the menu, not just the gluten-free options that night.

No lobster? Won't upset my wife. She is allergic to shellfish. Coming from New England where they have real lobsters, lobster night wasn't the highlight of my cruise nor will it stop me from cruising in the future. Is it really all about the food?

Agreed.... there's no way to mass-prepare lobster tails properly. Even if they're cooked correctly, they're going to sit and get rubbery -- they need to be served immediately after they are steamed or broiled.

I have a friend that knows a lobster fisherman, and we pick it up in Kittery off the boat and enjoy it that night. Worth the 5 hour drive back to NY with fresh lobster -- especially in the spring when they still have their thicker shells when the meat is much sweeter.

Cruise ship lobster? Never.

 

Training and Staff Knowledge .... unacceptable, .

Really? My daughter has a gluten allergy and the staff would sometimes question her order (after they went to retrieve it) and inform her about the potential cross-contamination of her order and being cooked on the same grill with items that contained flour and/or wheat. I found the staff to be highly knowledgeable and helpful. We've eaten at many high-end NYC restaurants, and their staffs are nowhere as educated about food allergies as the NCL staff was. Even at a recent dinner at the CIA in Hyde Park, while the senior wait staff knew of the allergy, these "high-end" future chefs were clueless.

How did you approach the staff? Not to be assume or accuse, but sugar goes a lot further than vinegar. You commented that no one gave their name. Did you ask? I always ask first and introduce ourselves.

Cities close piers (roads, et. al.) all the time for maintenance and such and I doubt NCL is happy about it either.

While companies do their best at long range plans, what government organization have you ever dealt with that plans well? For me, none. Roads closed in my home town for routine maintenance two weeks before school closes. Hello DPW? Busses? Wait two weeks and bus and car traffic drops by x%. Most government agencies don't have a clue. They don't have to. We have no options.

My guess is that if NCL was impacted, others may be as well. Company size has nothing to do with advance notification.

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In the past, we've enjoyed the buckets of Michelob Ultra. They came in 16oz heavy aluminum bottles. For some reason, they tasted better and colder than the Mich Ultra I buy at home. I have never seen those for purchase anywhere other than on the ship. Really hope they still have those in September!

Beer always tastes better on vacation! :D

The hotel I am looking at is actually right near that station... but yeah, we'll get a cab

Taxi is the way to go. It's closer to around 3/4 of a mile given the avenues -- not fun lugging bags behind you if you walk it, and if the bus is crowded, the bags could be an issue. Cab fare should be less than $10 for the trip, but that depends also on traffic. Bus would be $2.50/person, so not much of a difference.

I shouldn't have said "#1 complaint" as indeed I was exercising hyperbole. I don't really think that's the #1 complaint about NCL. I would have guessed the smoking on the balconies thing, and indeed that's what's leading in a poll someone just started.

 

However the reasons people are giving NOT to have self-serve laundry are poor.

 

 

"The machines are a fire hazard" -- I don't believe that. How often do you hear about laundromats catching on fire? I don't think I've ever heard of that happening once.

 

 

It happens all the time -- talk to your local volunteer fire department. Lint fires in dryers are one of the primary causes of laundromat and house fires -- if vent lines aren't cleaned on a regular and frequent basis.

It's vacation... enjoy and skip the wash. Just pack more... or as others suggest, buy more tees.

Personally, this is the last thing I look for when researching cruises. I am on vacation; there is no way I am going to do laundry. That is part of my unpacking/reminiscing process when I get home.

Ditto -- laundry on vacation??? NFW. I'll bring an extra bag with extra clothes and worry about it when I return.

Have you ever been to a Laundromat? I can't imagine the chaos that would erupt when clothes are left in a washer or dryer -- as you KNOW people won't sit there for an hour and a half watching their clothes wash and dry.

And that's why there are options. NCL has The Haven... maybe the other lines could have "The Hazel" class for those that want to do lots of laundry while "on vacation" :D

Take a "Behind the Scenes Tour" and you will see exactly how the laundry is done. You could not be more incorrect in your suppositions. Do you really think if you send your clothes to the laundry/dry cleaners at home, they wash your things separately? :rolleyes:

Well of course they do -- the OP is "special" ya know... their local cleaner process every item individually. Could you imagine if your clothes were actually washed with your neighbors! :D